title: Origanum vulgare subsp. hirtum essential oil prevented biofilm formation and showed antibacterial activity against planktonic and sessile bacterial cells.
abstract: Essential oils from six different populations of Origanum vulgare subsp. hirtum were compared for their antibiofilm properties. The six essential oils (A to F) were characterized by a combination of gas chromatography with flame ionization detector and gas chromatography with mass spectrometer detector analyses. All oils showed weak activity against the planktonic form of a group of Staphylococcus aureus strains and against a Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 15442 reference strain. The ability to inhibit biofilm formation was investigated at sub-MIC levels of 200, 100, and 50 m g/ml by staining sessile cells with safranin. Sample E showed the highest average effectiveness against all tested strains at 50 m g/ml and had inhibition percentages ranging from 30 to 52%. In the screening that used preformed biofilm from the reference strain P. aeruginosa, essential oils A through E were inactive at 200 m g/ml; F was active with a percentage of inhibition equal to 53.2%. Oregano essential oil can inhibit the formation of biofilms of various food pathogens and food spoilage organisms.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Biologiche, Chimiche e Farmaceutiche "STEBICEF," Università degli Studi di Palermo, Via Archirafi, 32 90123 Palermo, Italy;, Email: domenico.schillaci@unipa.it.
authors.forename: Domenico
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Schillaci
authors.forename: Edoardo Marco
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Napoli
authors.forename: Maria Grazia
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Cusimano
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vitale
authors.forename: Andgiuseppe
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ruberto
mesh_terms: D018441:Biofilms / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000517:prevention & control; D005519:Food Preservation / Q000379:methods*; D005520:Food Preservatives / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D009822:Oils, Volatile / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D031341:Origanum / Q000737:chemistry*; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa / Q000502:physiology; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D005520:Food Preservatives; D009822:Oils, Volatile